Vermette helps Senators double up Stars

The Senators received important contributions from some of their
lesser-heralded players to defeat the Dallas Stars, 4-2, on
Friday night.

In a game with a surprising amount of animosity between two
clubs who have not seen much of each other in recent years,
Antoine Vermette had a goal and an assist while Mike Fisher and
defenseman Christoph Schubert also tallied for the Senators.

Those contributions were crucial because Ottawa's top line of
Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza - each of whom
are among the NHL's top 25 scorers - were kept quiet most of the
night.

"Really, the last two nights, we've had good contributions from
other players," Ottawa coach John Paddock said. "That's what a
team is. That's what we need a lot of nights, whether it's on
the scoresheet or in other areas."

It was Ottawa's second straight win after going 0-4-3 in its
previous seven, while Dallas lost its second in a row after a
string of eight victories.

"We were prepared and focused, and they capitalized on their
opportunities and we didn't," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow,
who had two assists. "We were getting shots, but the effort to
create the second and third shot wasn't there. It was a
competitive game against a good team. We just didn't get the
bounces."

Ray Emery sparkled in goal when necessary, turning aside 23
shots for just his fourth victory of the season. Emery, who
helped the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, had
been serving as the backup to Martin Gerber following his return
from offseason wrist surgery.

"He played well throughout the whole game," Fisher said. "He
made some big stops and he was there and gave us a chance. I
thought he's just continuing to get better."

For Dallas, Niklas Hagman scored his 11th goal of the campaign
before being ejected for boarding late in the second period.

Backup Mike Smith got the start in goal for Dallas and gave a
solid performance, making 16 saves.

With Ottawa leading, 2-1, late in the second period - right
after Emery stopped Mike Modano's wrist shot from the slot on a
power play - Hagman crunched Schubert into the boards for a
five-minute major and game misconduct. Schubert stayed down for
several minutes before being helped off, but he did return for
the next shift during the man advantage.

"The officials told me (Schubert) was in a vulnerable position,"
Dallas coach Dave Tippett said of the play. "If it was our
player getting hit, we'd be upset."

Without Hagman and with Stu Barnes in the penalty box, Dallas'
two best penalty-killers were off the ice as Ottawa converted a
5-on-3 advantage at 6:29 of the third. Just 22 seconds into
the opportunity, Fisher whipped a wrist shot from the left
faceoff circle past Smith on the short side for a 3-1 bulge.

"We skated well. It seemed like we were controlling it a little
bit more in the neutral zone and hanging on to pucks down low,"
Fisher said. "The guys seemed to have a little more energy and
a little more will tonight, and that resulted in an overall
pretty good effort.

"We've been forechecking a little bit harder, creating chances
and playing a little bit more of the style we started off. It's
nice to get back to playing the way we know we can."

Smith was bowled over after stopping Chris Neil on a breakaway
with 5:06 left in the third period, but remained in the game.

Mike Ribeiro was able to halve the Stars' deficit with 1:49
remaining, but Chris Kelly added an empty-net goal with 30
seconds left to seal the win.

"We got down, 3-1, and it was just a little too late from us in
the third," Ribeiro said. "I thought we picked it up in the
third. It's tough and it hurts to drop two straight at home."

Ottawa got on the board first when Schubert netted his fourth of
the season at 5:18 of the first period, as his looping wrist
shot from the blue line sailed through a screen and past Smith.

"They got some bounces and I needed to make some saves early,
and I didn't do that tonight," Smith said. "Once you get
behind, you chase the game, and it's unfortunate to start like
that. A couple of more saves on my part would have made it a
different game.

"On the first goal, there were a few guys in front of me, but I
have to find the puck no matter what."

Immediately after the ensuing faceoff, Neil tried to engage
Dallas' Steve Ott in a fight, but since Ott did not drop his
gloves to participate in the bout, Neil ended up alone in the
penalty box for four minutes.

After defenseman Wade Redden was whistled for hooking at 7:11,
the Stars went on a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes. It
took just 21 seconds for them to capitalize, as Hagman swatted
in the rebound of blue-liner Sergei Zubov's slap shot to tie the
game at 1-1.

Ottawa regained the lead with 3:31 to go in the first on a
spectacular individual effort by Vermette. After taking a pass
at the Stars' blue line from Neil, Vermette stickhandled through
both defenders, came in alone and beat Smith with a move to his
forehand.

"I saw Chris Neil had the puck on the neutral wing, so I tried
to gain some speed through the middle," Vermette said. "Then I
pulled the puck and tried to make the (defenseman) move, and I
slid the puck between his legs. It's going to work once in a
while, but I was pretty happy. I got lucky. I guess sometimes
the puck's going to hit the skate."